Less Hip. Me??

Soooooooo, first week back in the insurance biz.  It's been great to be back with my friends.  Isn't it amazing that it's pretty much the exact same agents as when I was an agent there 10 years ago?  And same administrative staff too.  BUT, I can see that MUCH has changed technology-wise & I have MUCH to learn to be able to work on my own & be of some help to the agents.  But I'll get there.  Got my office set up & my license came in the mail on Thursday.  So it's official.  YAY me! :)

Next: I still have a mediport-shaped knot where the mediport used to be.  So to look at me, it appears that I still have a port.  Which I don't.  But today it does seem to be quite a bit smaller, so maybe it'll finally flatten out soon.  I called Dr V's office to inquire if it was normal to have a knot there.  His response: "Normal as rain."  Ok. 

Had more blood work done this week...ordered by the fabulous endocrinologist, Dr F.  It appears I have some slight bone deterioration in my hips & he calls it "Osteopenia".  The report says the bone density here is "between 10 - 25% below normal. Fracture risk is moderate. Treatment is advised."  Well shit!  Anyway, the blood work Dr F ordered should tell him why there's the deterioration, although I'm pretty sure we're blamin it on chemo.  But he wants to know for sure so we can get on top of this before it becomes a problem.  Increase calcium & Vitamin D.  I was normal on my D levels on my last CBC, & I was already increasing my Calcium.  So, guess we'll wait & see what the tests show.

And January signals the annual starting over of the health insurance deductibles for treatments, tests, drugs...all of it.  Maybe you remember my post last January ... Yeah, I didn't deal with it very well last year.  Guess I should try to be more....ummmm....mature(?) when/if I find myself in a similar situation this year...

And right now I'm listening to hubby edit 4 year olds singing...& I think my uterus just imploded.....



 

Posted Jan 21, 2010 If You've Got the Money Honey....

If You've Got the Money Honey....

Posted Jan 21, 2010 3:35pm

Soooooo, I was supposed to have my Herceptin infusion after Radiation today. But it didn't happen. Got the call at 9am this morning. My appointment was for 10:30. Gonna have to start getting my Herceptin done in the hospital until my ultra high health insurance deductible is met. Needless to say, this didn't go over with me very well. Nope, not well at all. Those of you who know me well might have some idea of the kind of "scene" that followed.

Hubby walks in on me in mid-meltdown on the phone and takes the phone from me and tries to reason with the nice Financial Director lady, to no avail. So I show up to the cancer center for my radiation. And after much bad noise & flailing about....the answer was still no. No can do. No payment plan will be worked out. Leave that to the hospital, which is more financially able to work out payment arrangements. See, Herceptin is very VERY expensive, and my health insurance deductible is very VERY high.

I really think the deductible should already be met, what with me having had 12 radiations to date, but it's a matter of the billing being submitted & the insurance paperwork getting done, so by the time they figure out that the deductible WAS in fact met, I will have already had 1, possibly 2 infusions at the hospital.

This cancer center I've been going to is owned by 3 of the oncologists who work there and they have to pay for these drugs up front. And, it was explained to me, I'm not the only patient requesting that a payment plan be worked out. And if they agreed to work it out for all who ask, they would soon be out of business. So, apparently I'm being unreasonalby upset.

The thing is this: this is serious business. I just don't like the idea of having to trust a total stranger to administer this infusion. I've come to know and put my trust in the chemo nurses at the cancer center. Now I'm gonna have to get it done, at least once, by a total stranger. And maybe this should not freak me out, but it totally freaks me out! Yet, those chemo nurses were all strangers to me in the beginning too. Oh well...this is ME...Miss High Maintenance I guess. They claim I'm not the most High Maintenance patient they've dealth with. Sheesh, I'd hate to meet whoever THAT is, cause I'm pretty dramatic with this stuff! LOL!

Sooooooo, today has not been a very good day. Nothin like being the fodder for the cancer center office staff to chit chat over my drama-queen-ness. And I get to show my face there again tomorrow for the radiation. Thank GOD they don't offer THAT at the hospital!

Anyway, so NEXT Thursday I'll get the dern Herceptin. Eh, whatever! I understand why this is how things have to be, but I don't have to like it.

And I don't.